Luisa Loi reports from around Island County for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.
Saturday, about 1,500 people showed up in front of the Navy aircraft monument on Highway 20 in what seems to be one of the largest protests in Whidbey’s history.
The “Hands Off!” rally, organized by Indivisible Whidbey and co-sponsored by Solidarity Over Supremacy (or SOS Whidbey), was part of a national movement to protest the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency — also known as DOGE.
They Said It
Some, like Langley City Councilmember Craig Cyr, showed up to support Canada and pay tribute to their Canadian ancestry amid tensions over tariffs and Trump’s comments about turning the sovereign country into the 51st U.S. state.
“I’m amazed that flying a Canadian flag is an act of protest,” Cyr said as he held the maple leaf flag.
Jim Spoltman, chairman of the Island County Republican Party, said the party is not aware of any cuts to benefits but acknowledged some people, including veterans, will lose their jobs.
“It’s not that we’re unfeeling about it, I would like them to still be employed. But if the jobs are cut, you know, they’re cut,” he said, explaining that Republicans tend to favor smaller, more efficient and less intrusive government. “Our stance is that the government is likely overstaffed and that we think that reduction in force is good.”
Because the party focuses on what is being done at the county and not the federal level, he said, it doesn’t feel the need to engage with protests against the federal government, though he does wonder what alternatives are being offered by objectors.
Some worry that these changes will create barriers to accessing benefits and services. Among them is Grethe Cammermeyer, who worked as a VA nurse and served as a combat nurse in Vietnam.
Cammermeyer, who attended the protest in Oak Harbor, believes the reductions affecting the VA and Social Security will mean people will have a harder time getting in contact with staff who can give them support and schedule appointments.
With the administration’s campaign against DEI and transgender people in the military, Cammermeyer worries that less people will want to join the military, which could pose a national security risk.
Christina Elliott, a lawyer and member of the Whidbey Island Democratic Club board, believes the Trump administration has inspired a wider variety of people than before to join peaceful rallies and make their voices heard.
Aside from her concerns as a Navy spouse, she has seen the rule of law being eroded since Trump returned to the White House, especially with deportations that are occurring, she said, without due process.
